Physician Recommends Against Quitting Smoking for Smokers Who Do Not Want to Use NRT or Cessation Drugs; Hides Conflict of Interest

An article in the Annals of Family Medicine argues that smokers who do not wish to use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), varenicline, or other drugs should be counseled by their physicians not to quit smoking. Specifically, these patients should not be encouraged to try to quit using e-cigarettes. Moreover, the article scares physicians into thinking that if they do encourage smoking cessation via e-cigarettes, they are putting themselves into legal danger.According to the lead author - Dr. Adam Goldstein of the University of North Carolina - e-cigarettes are dangerous and have not shown to be helpful in smoking cessation and should therefore not be recommended to patients. If they are recommended, he argues, physicians face legal risks:"the ethical duty of medicine is to do no harm. Jumping from the 10th floor of a burning building rather than the 15th floor offers no real benefit. If a clinician recommends penicillin for a resistant infection in the face of more effective therapy, they would face an uncertain defense in front of their colleagues or courts. For clinicians that do recommend ENDS, do they document such in the medical record? Given the rise in medical lawsuits related to ENDS side effects or injuries, until such time that medical evidence supports ENDS safety and effectiveness, and robust regulatory frameworks exist, clinicians who recommend ENDS to patients in favor of more effect...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs